• US !940's target aircraft and AA drones.

    From Geoffrey Sinclair@21:1/5 to All on Wed Apr 12 11:53:47 2017
    The targets and drones remain an obscure topic, the ones capable of being piloted received a serial number, along with some of the smaller, often effectively model, aircraft mainly used as AA targets.

    The ones that could carry a pilot are counted in some of the published US aircraft production figures, the rest were not.

    The designation-systems.net web site has not been updated for about three
    years and usmilitaryaircraft.wordpress.com is now permanently frozen. So
    this is the update.

    This covers what is in the production reports only. Note Frankfort was renamed Globe in 1946.

    Culver produced 1 XPQ-8 and 200 PQ-8 (Aug-41 to Jul-42) and 200 PQ-8A (Mar
    to Oct-43) for the USAAF and 201 PQ-8/TDC-2 for the USN (Jun to Dec-43).
    There are 201 USAAF PQ-8 serials numbers known, at the moment it looks like 43-30762 is a mistake or part of the USN order. The TDC-2 were a direct USN order.

    Fleetwings built 8 YPQ-12A in 1944.

    Erco (Engineers Research) built 2 XPQ-13, probably in 1941.

    Culver built 843 PQ-14 for the USAAF Mar-44 to Sep-45 and 1,200 for the USN
    (as the TD2C-1) Apr-44 to Jun-46. By sub type the USAAF received 74
    YPQ-14A, 25 YPQ-14B, 150 PQ-14A and 594 PQ-14B, the USN received 2 YPQ-14A
    and 1,198 PQ-14A. All the USN aircraft were under an Army for Navy
    contract.

    It seems 4 Culver XPQ-15 were ordered, the 2 for the USAAF were still outstanding as of end October 1945 and may have never been accepted, the two for the USN, the XTD3C-1, were not accepted by the end of 1946 and then disappear from the reports.

    There were 3,685 OQ-2A built by Radioplane and 1,284 by Frankfort.
    Radioplane had built 772 by the end of January 1943, Frankfort had not begun production, by the end of the year Frankfort had 750 outstanding but
    Radioplane had finished OQ-2A production. 600 of the Radioplane and 384 of
    the Frankfort orders received USAAF serials. Apart from the USAAF order Radioplane built another 150 OQ-2B or TDD for the USN by the end of 1943
    under an Army for navy contract.

    There were 5,828 OQ-3 ordered from Radioplane and 3,585 from Frankfort, all
    bar 6 Radioplane and 4 Frankfort which were built under their OQ-2A
    contracts, received USAAF serials. As of the end of October 1945 some 120 Frankfort and 29 Radioplane OQ-3 were outstanding, it is believed these were built.

    There were 2,084 OQ-14 built by Radioplane and 1,464 by Frankfort, all had USAAF serials.

    20 Frankfort XOQ-6 ordered, 8 still outstanding as of end October 1945.

    1 Simmons OQ-11, 1 Radioplane OQ-12, 5 Frankfort XOQ-15 and 9 Radioplane
    XOQ-17 built by end October 1945.

    5 Radioplane XOQ-19 ordered of which 1 was outstanding as of end October
    1945.

    All the XOQ-6, 11 12, 15, 17 and 19 had USAAF serials. No further
    information on USAAF OQ production.

    The USAAF built 1 Fleetwings XBQ-1 and 1 XBQ-2A.

    The USN accepted 2 Culver UC-1/XTD4C-1 in 1946.

    The USN TDR or TDN depending on manufacturer, 4 XTDN-1 and 70 TDN-1 from
    Naval Aircraft Factory, 30 from Brunswick-Balke Collender, 2 XTDR-1 from Interstate, along with 172 TDR or TDN, and 17 TDR/N from American Aviation,
    all up 295 built Dec-42 to Sep-44.

    Interstate built 2 XTD2R-1, 3 XTD-3R-1 and 10 TD3R-1 Nov-43 to Dec-44. One
    of the XTD2R-1 crashed under test and was never officially accepted by the
    USN.

    In 1945 the USN placed orders for 4,025 TDD with Globe and 3,071 TDD-3 with Radioplane but cancelled them. It did proceed with other orders. An order
    for 3,120 Globe TDD-3 began production in Oct-45, it was amended to 2,287
    TDD-3 and 833 TDD-4 and was completed in Sep-46. The order for 3,120 TDD-3 from Radioplane began production in Nov-45 was also amended, to 2,400 TDD-3
    and 720 TDD-4 and was completed in Oct-46.

    Order for 100 McDonnell KDD-1 (TD2D-1) began production in 1945, finished in Feb-46

    Order for 19 Naval Aircraft Factory KDN-1 began production in 1945, finished
    in Oct-47.

    Order for 30 Globe XKDG-1 began production in 1946, finished in Apr-47
    Order for 400 Globe KD3G began production in Jan-47, finished in Dec-47

    Order for 400 Radioplane KDR-1/TD4D-1/OQ-17 began production in Jun-46, finished Jun-47

    Order for 30 Radioplane XKD2R/OQ-19 began production in Nov-46, finished
    Feb-47

    Order for 8 Naval Aircraft Factory KD2N-1 began production in Nov-46,
    finished in Jul-47

    Order for 60 Curtiss XKD2C-1 began production in May-47, amended to KD2C-1
    and -2 plus an additional 30 KD3C-1 added to the contract, however by 1949
    15 of the KD2C and all KD3C had been cancelled, production finished in
    Jan-49

    Order for 200 Globe KDG-2 began production in 1947, finished Sep-48

    Order for 30 Globe KD2G-1 filled in Dec-47

    Order for 200 Radioplane KD2R-2 began production in Nov-47, finished in
    Apr-48

    Order for 30 Globe KD2G-1 filled Jan/Feb-48

    Order for 75 Martin KDM-1 listed in 1949 but no production that year.

    Order for 30 Globe KD4G-1 began production in Apr-49, 28 by end of year.

    Order for 600 Globe KD2G-2 listed in 1949 but no production that year.

    End of USN KD information.

    The production reports also give USN air (Gargoyle/Gorgon to 1947) and ship
    (to 1949) launched missiles

    Geoffrey Sinclair
    Remove the nb for email.

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